{"product_id":"the-broadsword-best-early-works-of-laird-barron-lettered-edition","title":"The Broadsword: Best Early Works of Laird Barron - LETTERED EDITION","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Broadsword: Best Early Works of Laird Barron\u003c\/strong\u003e LETTERED EDITION\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePRIVATE SALE - GENERAL SALES BEGIN 9\/17\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHIS IS A PRE-ORDER - EXPECTED TO SHIP IN DECEMBER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eLaird Barron is an unparalleled master of contemporary cosmic horror. He erected his own stunning literary edifice upon the foundation of the rich tradition spanning from Lovecraft to Ligotti and beyond. However, unlike Lovecraft’s bookish outsiders and Ligotti’s alienated weirdos, Barron’s protagonists are often tough guys—extroverts who drink heavily and fight dirty. The stories selected for this volume capture them at the exact moment when their cocksure lives begin to slip out of joint and their encounter with the Outer forces becomes a catalyst for their percolating personal hells.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThese ten stories—selected by Barron himself, mostly from his earlier collections—show him at his very best as he spins his own neo-mythology of The Old Leech or re-imagines the well-known genre tropes beyond recognition. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Broadsword: Best Early Works of Laird Barron \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003erepresents the full, powerful range of one of the very best living horror authors: from highly effective atmospheric terror and psychological drama, through pitch black humor all the way to over-the-top bloody action. Cosmic horror has rarely been this firmly grounded in palpable (and pulpable) characters, and settings both natural and unnatural.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThis edition includes an Introduction by fellow writer, John Langan, along with commentary on each of the stories by Laird Barron, lavishly illustrated by Paul Romano. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOne of his archetypal situations is \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eMen go into Nature and get much more than they bargained for.” \u003cb\u003eThe Men from Porlock\u003c\/b\u003e was based on\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ea nightmare about hidden doors in monolithic trees swinging open and revealing the black things uncoiling inside. A group of lumberjacks penetrate the deep backwoods wilderness only to come across an isolated village and its strange inhabitants… \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e--30-- \u003c\/b\u003efeatures another type of\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ewilderness: a desert location, inspired by Charles Manson\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003es Spahn Ranch, where two ex-lovers survey the region supernaturally saturated by a Satanic cult\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003es murders. The masterful atmosphere of the Otherworldly is greatly enhanced by the intriguing interpersonal drama between the two witty protagonists.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe author himself considers\u003cb\u003e The Broadsword\u003c\/b\u003e a cornerstone of his corpus. It reads like a sequel to T.E.D. Klein\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003es brilliant \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eChildren of the Kingdom,” focused as it is on an elderly man who resides in the old urban Broadsword hotel. He begins to sense, through the walls and piping, the voices of entities entirely non-human.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eProboscis\u003c\/b\u003e is about bounty hunters who captured and delivered a serial killer with super-human powers. He escapes from prison and goes after them in an atmospheric chase into the Unnamable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIn \u003cb\u003eHand of Glory\u003c\/b\u003e a gangster is after a powerful man who may have killed his father using a soul-stealing technique which merges the occult with early photography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBut it\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003es not all about the testosterone heavies. \u003cb\u003eThe Redfield Girls \u003c\/b\u003eis a\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eghost story with an all-female cast: a group of elderly teachers, plus a young girl, on a lake-side vacation summon a real world legend (and also a contemporary tragedy) from the icy waters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eA woman is caught in a vacuum between melancholy and nightmare in \u003cb\u003eThe Lagerstätte\u003c\/b\u003e. She tries to cope with the recent deaths of her husband and son and joins a support group for suicidal women, only to discover that other grieving souls vanish mysteriously, as though dragged away by their dearly departed. This is quiet, but harrowing psychological horror about unhealable spiritual wounds, partly inspired by recent Asian horror cinema.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eFun-loving teenagers also get unexpected just deserts: in \u003cb\u003eAndy Kaufman Creeping Through the Trees\u003c\/b\u003e a young girl discovers something dark and deadly behind the eyes of a comedian, while in \u003cb\u003e(Little Miss) Queen of Darkness \u003c\/b\u003ea queer youth regrets putting Dracula\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003es ring on their finger after it initiates apocalypse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBut it\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003es not all grim and horrific: \u003cb\u003eSun Down\u003c\/b\u003e reads like an R-rated black comedy of \u003ci\u003eAddams Family\u003c\/i\u003e proportions, with added cosmic horror. It deals with a uniquely unnatural family who inherits a cabin left by a witchy, deceased aunt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSpecs:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* 6\" x 9\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* 352 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Tipped in signature sheet signed by the author and the artist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Smyth-sewn binding\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Head and tail bands\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Ribbon marker\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Clothbound with dust jacket\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Newly commissioned art by Paul Romano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Offset \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eprinted on archival acid-free paper\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Linen quarter binding wrapped in custom marbled paper\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Hand marbled end papers\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Dark green edge staining\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Custom clamshell case \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Printed in Lithuania and bound in USA\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chiroptera Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49739501928704,"sku":null,"price":525.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0653\/2182\/8608\/files\/BroadswordLETTEred.jpg?v=1789143775","url":"https:\/\/chiropterapress.com\/products\/the-broadsword-best-early-works-of-laird-barron-lettered-edition","provider":"Chiroptera Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}